EF teacher distributes ear savers

By Jose Negron

jnegron@yourmvi.com

A teacher at Elizabeth Forward High School is responsible for helping to keep health care workers more comfortable while working on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

With the help of Glowforge, a Seattle-based 3D laser printing company, Elizabeth Forward technical education teacher Gregory Schutz has printed nearly 500 ear savers and donated them to hospitals in the Mon Valley and beyond. 

In an April 13 press release, Glowforge announced its “2 Million Essential Ears Initiative” with the goal of mobilizing tens of thousands of Glowforge owners across the country to get one million ear savers to people on the front lines of the pandemic who are experiencing pain and damage from their masks.

“It’s only possible for us to stay at home because so many people are going out and doing essential jobs to keep us all safe. We can never thank them enough,” said Dan Shapiro, CEO of Glowforge. “But by donating our time, our effort and our creativity, we can help the people who are helping us. It’s a small thing that can make a big difference.”

During a time in which it is mandatory for customers and essential workers to don face masks, ear savers help provide relief for those who have to wear them for extended periods of time. 

“There are a lot of people who have been impacted and it’s been a really quick change for everybody,” Schutz said. “The least we can do as a school district is to be able to provide the material, the machines and the time to try to help our local areas.”

Schutz said he learned of Glowforge’s initiative from a colleague in another district who had taken part in the project. 

Schutz pitched the idea of printing ear savers to superintendent Dr. Todd Keruskin and high school principal Michael Routh, both of whom were on board with the effort. 

Once the idea was approved, Schutz downloaded a free file featuring the ear savers that was made available to Glowforge product owners. 

He then used ethalon printers located in one of the high school’s FabLabs to print the ear savers before sending them to essential workers. 

“It was nice that (Keruskin and Routh) let me do this while letting the school district get its name out there,” said Schutz, who had produced 490 ear savers as of Wednesday. 

Among the facilities that have benefited from Schutz’s efforts are Mon Valley Hospital in Carroll Township, Mon Valley Care Center and UPMC Children’s Community Pediatrics in Monongahela and Premier Washington Health Center in Washington. 

Uniontown Hospital and UPMC Shadyside in Pittsburgh have also received ear savers. 

Additionally, Schutz said senior Abby Bickerton obtained ear savers to ship to her mother, who works in the health care field in Arizona. 

“I’m just so proud of Mr. Schutz for trying to help the community through his FabLab,” Keruskin said. “I think it’s just incredible work by him.

“It’s a team effort and it will take all of us working together to get through this. Greg, in a little way, has really helped out a lot.” 

Schutz said he didn’t pursue this effort for any sort of recognition. He simply wanted to help those in need while representing Elizabeth Forward in a positive manner. 

“I love this job and I really feel blessed with where I’m at,” Schutz said. “All the administrators I have are very supportive of everything. You just want to do something like this for the school district.”

Schutz said he would like to continue distributing ear savers to whomever needs them. 

Those interested in obtaining ear savers can contact Elizabeth Forward High School directly or get in touch with Schutz via the FabLab Twitter account @EFHSFabLab.

“I would love to keep going with this and see how many places we can get them in,” Schutz said.